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Thursday, December 10, 2009

Mushroom And Leek Quiche With Goat Cheese (Gluten-Free)

I'm declaring yesterday Meryl Streep Day. Why? Well, it's a fun little story that started with a canceled dinner plan and ended with Meryl Streep shaking my hand. Sometimes canceled plans turn out to be a good thing!

My coworkers had been talking about Meryl Streep that day and her new movie, It's Complicated. I love that she stars in romantic comedies at an age when most women (ridiculously so) are relegated to the background in Hollywood. However, she wasn't exactly at the forefront of my mind when I left work to meet my boyfriend for a dinner date at S'Mac. When he called to tell me he was stuck at work and didn't know when he would be done, I decided to keep walking through Manhattan in the hope that he would finish at work sooner than he thought. I had been excited about mac and cheese all day, and wasn't about to give up on my dinner plans that easily! Plus, if I went home, I would feel compelled to study chemistry. Walking aimlessly seemed like a much better plan to me!

My wandering took me to 5th Avenue, where I happened to see a small crowd gathering amid signs for It's Complicated. Reminded of the Meryl Streep discussion at work, I stopped to see what was going on. The It's Complicated Premier! Figuring I had nothing to do anyway, I decided to wait around and watch. At this point, there were very few people there, so I got a prime spot at the front of the crowd, which, at 5 feet tall, is always a blessing!

Now, I'm embarassed to tell you that I did something I've never done before to see the Hollywood elite. I waited around for 2 hours! I know...crazy right? Normally, I'll give it 15 minutes and then move on, but since I had nothing else to do, I just kept standing there. And then suddenly it was 45 minutes later, and I was thinking, "If I've waited this long, I'm not going to leave until I see someone." An hour and 15 minutes later, I finally saw someone. Lots of someones. And I was pretty starstruck. I'll reign myself in and refrain from giving you the rundown of everyone there, but it was pretty exciting. I kept cool though. I wasn't one of the ones yelling, "Alec! Meryl!" I did, however, wave back excitedly when Steve Martin waved in our direction, and was very happy when Tina Fey winked at us (I like to think she was winking at me in particular). Of course the best part though, was when Meryl Streep herself came out and stopped and thanked us all for coming, and shook my hand! As kind as all the others were to come out and wave, she took it a step further and gave everyone her attention graciously and humbly. When the girl next to me told her she looked great, she looked as pleased as any woman is to hear that, and said, "Thank you. I tried!" I am now very much a Meryl Streep fan!

So what does any of this have to do with quiche? Not a whole lot, except that when I got home (and I did get my mac and cheese, if you were wondering), my netflix movie was in the mail. Guess what it was? Julie and Julia, starring Meryl Streep! The culmination of my Meryl Streep Day! And since Julia Child made many fabulously fancy dishes, I thought I would make a quiche because this seems like the epitomy of fancy to me. Did you know, though, that quiches are super easy to make? I had no idea, but now that I know, I'll be making them all the time!

And the best thing about this quiche? Unlike a traditional one which can be rather heavy and high in calories, this is a light dish that you can eat without feeling guilty. In fact, I'm not normally a calorie counter, but I just estimated the calorie count per serving and it's only 84 calories! Eat away!

Spray a 10.5 in. pie pan with oil. Layer the slices of sweet potato in it as if it were a crust. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes and then set aside.

While the sweet potatoes are baking, spray a saute pan with oil. Over medium heat, saute the leeks for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and tamari, and saute another 6-7 minutes, until the leeks are translucent and the mushrooms are cooked through. Spread this mixture over the sweet potatoes (once they've been baked).

Cut up the goat cheese into little bits and layer it on top of the quiche.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, almond milk, nutmeg, and black pepper (and salt if adding). Pour over the quiche evenly.

Can you believe the holidays are creeping up so quickly!? I guess creeping isn't the right word...speeding more like it. 3 finals next week, and then I can finally do what I really want...start baking some gluten-free holiday cookies! Any suggestions? What kind of holiday cookies do you like best?

I forgot to say how awesome it is that you saw Meryl! There's nothing silly about being excited about her. She's one of the best actresses that's ever lived, an inspiring artist, and someone who's paved the way for many women, a bit of a feminist. Anyone would be giddy in her presence. :)

Oh, what fun! Don't you love it when you do something totally unexpected like that, it turns out well, and you are so tickled with yourself? Way cool, Iris. You go, girl! Meryl always seems to be the most gracious, lovely lady. She never seems to have a problem finding roles that don't make her a dowdy matriarch.

Now that quiche ... could you please make it and show up at our support group meeting next Tuesday? I have a gang (including myself) who would adore that recipe! We even have a family who raises goats and will provide the goat cheese for you to use. Seriously. It's beautiful and I can only imagine how good it is. Big bonus that it's low in calories, too.

So... I know this was from December of last year, but I love the recipe and loved the story even more!

I think its awesome that you stood around for 2 hours! When I was living in NYC, the office that I worked at was right next to the Silver Cup Studios and so I ran into a lot of filming for Gossip Girl and Ugly Betty. I used to get irritated because I'd have to walk extra blocks to go around! haha. I would rather have seen Meryl though, she's amazing :)